CONTENT REMOTE SHOW 2022: NETFLIX PRESENTS AN EXTENSIVE OUTLOOK OF PRODUCTIONS FROM THE GERMAN-SPEAKING REGION

The Netflix content team, Katja Hofem, Steffi Ackermann, Sasha Bühler and Inga Leschek, provide exclusive insight into a total of 19 productions.

Nine series, five films and five non-fiction titles are showcased in the preview.

With this diverse and high-quality slate, Netflix is focusing on local content and the German-speaking creative scene.

Berlin, February 8, 2022 -- Today Netflix gave a preview of the year 2022 and beyond. As part of the second "Content Remote Show", hosted by Hadnet Tesfai, the German-language team presented a selection of 19 productions. The projects are part of Netflix's push into local content with a doubling of investments to 500 million euros between 2021 and 2023. With the new titles, Netflix continues to focus on diverse genres and innovations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

"My first three months at Netflix have been exciting and have gone by incredibly fast. We have a great team here on the ground that continues to grow, and with whom we are building our programming for the next few years. When it comes to story development, our top priorities are strong and local stories with authentic characters, produced to the highest quality. We want to inspire our viewers through our content and also those who are not yet in Germany, Austria and Switzerland," says Katja Hofem, who joined the DACH team as Vice President, Local Language Series in November. "We already work with the best creatives from the region and want to intensify these relationships and discover equally fresh and diverse talent. In this way, we want to set new milestones in serial storytelling and increase our footprint in the German market. I hope everyone enjoys our outlook for 2022!"

Nine series from Germany, Austria and Switzerland

New announcements in the series segment include the eight-part series Achtsam Morden (WT), based on the book of the same name by Karsten Dusse, which topped the Spiegel bestseller list for over nine months and is now being filmed for Netflix by Constantin Film, Jan Ehlert and Nina Viktoria Philipp. The authors Miriam Rechel and Chris Geletneky humorously tell the story of the successful top lawyer Björn Diemel. To save his marriage, he finds a new work-life balance in his life with the help of a mindfulness seminar and accidentally becomes a murderer in the process.

Another book adaptation, also produced by Constantin Television, is the thriller series Liebes Kind (WT). Based on the novel by Romy Hausmann, viewers can expect a gripping story about the power of obsession that explores human abysses in their darkest depths. The producers are Tom Spieß and Friederich Oetker. Isabel Kleefeld and Julian Pörksen are responsible for the script and direction of the six-part series.

With King of Stonks (previous working title Cable Cash), Netflix continues its successful collaboration with Cologne-based production studio btf (bildundtonfabrik) following the worldwide success of How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast). The idea for the six-part series, inspired by real events in the financial world, centers on narcissism, megalomania and double standards and was created by producers and showrunners Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann. It is directed by Jan Bonny, Facundo Scalerandi and Isabell Šuba with a unique cast around Matthias Brandt and Thomas Schubert.

The action-thriller series Kleo was created and written by HaRiBos, Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf and Bob Konrad, who were also responsible for 4 Blocks, with Elena Senft as an additional writer. The series tells the story of an extraordinary Stasi killer in Berlin during the German reunification, played by Jella Haase. Directors Viviane Andereggen and Jano Ben Chaabane stage a breathtaking vendetta through an anarchic Berlin in the unique look of the 80s and 90s, produced by Zeitsprung Pictures, Michael Souvignier and Till Derenbach.

Following the worldwide success of Barbarians, Netflix presented first images of the second season of the historical action series 'Made in Germany' at the Content Remote show. Oscar-winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky, who is also showrunner of Barbarians S2, directs the adventures of Thusnelda, Arminius and Folkwin, played once again by Jeanne Goursaud, Laurence Rupp and David Schütter - complemented by exciting characters and twists. The other director is Lennart Ruff, Gaumont managing director Sabine de Mardt, Andreas Bareiss and Rainer Marquass are again responsible for production.

Shooting of the modern historical series The Empress (WT) by writer and showrunner Katharina Eyssen has just been completed. Devrim Lingnau stars as the iconic Empress Elisabeth, with Philip Froissant playing Emperor Franz Joseph. Other roles are filled by Melika Foroutan, Johannes Nussbaum, Elisa Schlott and Jördis Triebel. The six-part series was shot under the direction of Katrin Gebbe and Florian Cossen, and produced by Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach of Sommerhaus Filmproduktion.

The mystery series 1899 is eagerly awaited. Creators and showrunners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar are producing with their newly founded production company DARK WAYS. The creative duo behind the award-winning series Dark was able to attract an international cast. Filming took place in a newly built studio for virtual productions - also called "Volume". The core element of the Volume is the largest fixed LED installation of its kind in Europe. With the investment and commitment, Netflix was able to contribute to the realization of a further technical advance for the German production location in Babelsberg.

As announced last year, Netflix is continuing its collaboration with ORF after Freud: Totenfrau is a co-production by Barry Films and Mona Film Produktion in which director Nicolai Rohde stages a gripping six-part revenge thriller based on the bestselling series of the same name by Austrian author Bernhard Aichner. The series promises to live up to the original: In the visually stunning Tyrolean setting, we accompany the extraordinary protagonist Blum, played by Anna Maria Mühe, through deep emotions and a desire for revenge.

The award-winning Swiss series Neumatt from Zodiac Pictures Ltd and SRF is among Netflix's latest licensing deals. The series, which successfully aired on Swiss television last fall, tells the story of a family caught between city and countryside as they struggle to survive on their farm. Producers are Lukas Hobi and Reto Schaerli, Marianne Wendt is responsible as showrunner and head writer, Sabine Boss and Pierre Monnard directed. Featuring a fantastic Swiss cast, including Julian Koechlin, Rachel Braunschweig, Sophie Hutter, Jérôme Humm and many more.

"From historical dramas to innovative action thrillers, contemporary comedies to mystery series, we show our viewers a program that couldn't be more diverse - all 'Made in DACH'", says Steffi Ackermann, Director Local Language Series. "Our announcements of the novel adaptations Achtsam Morden (WT) and Liebes Kind (WT) make our whole series team proud and we can't wait to show our series highlights this year. King of Stonks, Kleo, Barbarians, The Empress (WT) and 1899 - the second half of the year will be a real blast." Katja Hofem adds, "We offer our partners various forms of cooperation and want to enable the greatest possible degree of creativity. In addition, we also cooperate with broadcasters, as is now the case with the new projects of my colleague Kai Finke, such as Totenfrau with ORF or Neumatt with SRF."

High-class and diverse range of movies for Netflix

Most recently, the Netflix film team around Sasha Bühler celebrated some great successes. Army of Thieves, directed by and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, spent weeks at No. 1 in the Netflix charts around the world. In addition, Peter Thorwarth's Blood Red Sky achieved an incredible 53 million views within the first 28 days of release, was No. 1 in 57 countries and made it into the top 10 in 93 countries.

The spaghetti western Blood and Gold (WT) continues the successful collaboration with director Peter Thorwarth and producer Christian Becker of Rat Pack Filmproduktion. The film is set shortly before the end of World War II. A German soldier becomes a deserter in search of his only surviving daughter and is targeted by a marauding SS troop, unintentionally becoming part of their search for a Jewish gold treasure hidden in a remote village. The author is Stefan Barth. The film is currently in preparation and will be shot in the first half of 2022.

In Buba (WT), another production by Cologne-based btf, Bjarne Mädel will return as the quirky petty criminal from the first season of the hit series How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), directed by Arne Feldhusen. He is at the center of a story in which Buba, whose real name is Jakob Otto, makes his everyday life as unpleasant as possible. Bjarne Mädel is in the best company with his acting colleagues Georg Friedrich, Anita Vulesica, Michael Schertenleib, Michael Ostrowski, Maren Kroymann, Soma Pysall and Jasmin Shakeri.

Award-winning director Edward Berger stages a sophisticated production of Erich Maria Remarque's world-famous anti-war novel Im Westen Nichts Neues, allowing viewers to experience first-hand how naive war euphoria turns into horror and grief. The impressive cast includes Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl, Aaron Hilmer, Adrian Grünewald, Anton von Lucke, Moritz Klaus, Edin Hasanovic, Devid Striesow and Andreas Döhler. Producers are Malte Grunert and Daniel Dreifuß, Amusement Park Film.

Among the new announcements in the film sector is also Faraway (WT): A Film by Women for Women, which was shot mostly on the island of Solta in Croatia with an international cast around Naomi Krauss and Goran Bogdan. Director Vanessa Jopp directed from a script by Jane Ainscough, and producer is Viola Jäger of Olga Film.

How many years of life would you give up if it meant you could pay off your student loans or buy your dream apartment? That's the question posed by the upcoming action thriller Paradise (WT), set in a not-too-distant future in Germany. Produced by NEUESUPER, Simon Amberger, Korbinian Dufter and Rafael Parente are teaming up with writers Peter Kocyla, Simon Amberger and Boris Kunz, who is also directing, to create a world where you can buy eternal youth. The cast includes Corinna Kirchhoff and Kostja Ullmann.

"The film team at Netflix is getting bigger and bigger. We're all about implementing the broadest, strongest and most diverse range of content possible from the German-speaking world," said Sasha Bühler, Director, Film EMEA. "After the success last year of Blood Red Sky, I can't wait to work again with Peter Thorwarth and Christian Becker. Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann are already great partners in series and non-fiction and have now shot their first Netflix film for us with Buba (WT). And of course we are excited about the new partnerships with NEUESUPER on Paradise (WT) as well as the great female team on Faraway (WT). Especially close to my heart is our film Im Westen nichts Neues. Erich Maria Remarque's novel is still considered the quintessential anti-war novel, and I'm thrilled that we're making this world-famous and important material out of Germany with the great director Edward Berger."

True crime and reality shows, docu-series and comedy from DACH become a permanent fixture in the nonfiction sector

Alongside announcements from the fictional area, Inga Leschek, Director Nonfiction DACH, CEE and Russia, who has been working for Netflix since November 2021, presented her versatile program around new documentary and reality formats.

Queer Eye Germany, the first international spin-off of the successful US reality format, will be launched on March 9. Here in Germany, too, the five experts - Leni Bolt, David Jakobs, Jan-Henrik Scheper-Stuke, Aljosha Muttardi and Ayan Yuruk - are doing everything they can to use their knowledge, empathy and, above all, combined queer energy to steer the lives of their protégés in a positive direction and, together, open the door to a new, better chapter in their lives. Produced by ITV Studios Germany, the Makeover series tells the stories of real-life protagonists who, for various reasons, are going through challenging times with whom viewers can identify on various levels.

The true-crime series Soering (WT) is dedicated to one of the most exciting justice dramas of our time. The multi-award-winning documentary producer Arne Birkenstock used exclusive access to the main character Jens Söring for the production and, together with the directors Lena Leonhardt and Andre Hörmann, opens up completely new perspectives on the spectacular criminal case that continues to captivate people around the world today.

Mark Edwards, Director Documentary Film, who is responsible for documentary feature productions in the Netflix DACH team, revisits another true crime case from Germany with Gladbeck (WT). The Gladbeck hostage-taking remains one of the most dramatic crimes in post-war German history and kicked off a debate about the limits and responsibility of journalism. Director Volker Heise and producer Yan Schönefeld tell this docu-feature for the first time exclusively with the help of raw archive material.

In the documentary thriller Wirecard (AT), Financial Times journalist Dan McCrum provides comprehensive insights into his six-year investigation into the German fintech company Wirecard. The exciting documentary about one of the biggest financial crimes in Germany, in which the Mafia, porn barons and the Russian secret service play a role, is currently being produced under the direction of James Erskine and will be available on Netflix in the summer.

Taking to icy heights is the feature documentary Facing North, produced by Pitch International and directed by Goetz Werner and Nicholas de Taranto. The documentary looks behind the scenes of the gripping competition between the two Swiss extreme alpinists Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold, who climbed the most dangerous north faces of the Alps at record speed - usually completely without safety equipment.

"My heart is beating loudly for real stories and this is exactly where we see great growth potential in the DACH region," says Inga Leschek, Director Nonfiction. "With Queer Eye Germany, we will soon be launching our first makeover show and are looking forward to the German-language adaptation of this award-winning format. True Crime remains a solid pillar in our nonfiction division. The crime case on Jens Söring will be our next series project in this program color. Gladbeck (WT), Wirecard (WT) and Facing North are strong docu-feature projects for which my colleague Mark Edwards is responsible and which will start later this year. Reality fans can be excited, because in this genre there will be Netflix productions from the DACH region for the first time. We are currently making the final preparations for our first German-language reality project. We also want to continue offering first-class programs in the comedy segment. Together with my colleague Nathalie Laurent-Mark, we are in constant exchange with the German comedy scene. I hope that we can inspire our audience with the wide-ranging projects from the nonfiction sector and look forward to accompanying all the promising productions in the making."

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